Location:Southern: Côte d'Ivoire, Southern Ghana

Population: 40,000

Language: Aowin (Akan cluster of Twi)

Neighboring Peoples: Anyi, Asante, Fante

Types of Art:
Woodcarving includes stools, which are recognized as "seats" of power, and wooden
dolls (akua ba) that are associated with fertility. There are also extensive traditions of
pottery and weaving throughout Akan territory. Kente cloth, woven on behalf of
royalty, has come to symbolize African power throughout the world.

History:
Aowin are an Akan peoples living in southern Côte d'Ivoire. The rise of the early
Akan centralized states can be traced to the 13th century and is likely related to the
opening of trade routes established to move gold throughout the region. It was not
until the end of the 17th century, however, that the grand Asante Kingdom emerged in
the central forest region of Ghana, when several small states united under the Chief of
Kumasi in a move to achieve political freedom from the Denkyira. The Asante
confederacy was dissolved by the British in 1900 and colonized in 1901. Although
there is no longer a centralized Akan confederacy, Akan peoples maintain a powerful
political and economic presence.

Economy:
Early Akan economics revolved primarily around the trade of gold and enslaved
peoples to Mande and Hausa traders within Africa and later to Europeans along the
coast. This trade was dominated by the Asante who received firearms in return for
their role as middlemen in the slave trade. These were used to increase their already
dominant power. Local agriculture includes cocoa cultivation for export, while yams
and taro serve as the main staples. Along the coast, fishing is very important. The
depleted forests provide little opportunity for hunting. Extensive markets are run
primarily by women who maintain considerable economic power, while men engage in
fishing, hunting, and clearing land. Both sexes participate in agricultural endeavors.

Political Systems:
Royal membership among Akan is determined through connection to the land.
Anyone who traces descendency from a founding member of a village or town may
be considered royal. Each family is responsible for maintaining political and social
order within its confines. In the past, there was a hierarchy of leadership that extended
beyond the family, first to the village headman, then to a territorial chief, then to the
paramount chief of each division within the Asante confederacy. The highest level of
power is reserved for the Asanthene, who inherited his position along matrilineal lines.
The Asantahene still plays an important role in Ghana today, symbolically linking the
past with current Ghanaian politics.

Religion:
Akan believe in a supreme god who takes on various names depending upon the
particular region of worship. Akan mythology claims that at one time the god freely
interacted with man, but that after being continually struck by the pestle of an old
woman pounding fufu, he moved far up into the sky. There are no priests that serve
him directly, and people believe that they may make direct contact with him. There
are also numerous gods (abosom), who receive their power from the supreme god
and are most often connected to the natural world. These include ocean and riverine
spirits and various local deities. Priests serve individual spirits and act as mediaries
between the gods and mankind. Nearly everyone participates in daily prayer, which
includes the pouring of libations as an offering to both the ancestors who are buried in
the land and to the spirits who are everywhere. The earth is seen as a female deity and
is directly connected to fertility and fecundity.